1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to receptacles and, more specifically, to a water bottle and the method of manufacture. The present invention utilizes technology used to create plastic bottles for storing drinking water formed by the blow moulding method. The improved blow moulding method and relevant apparatus is capable of making complicated designs with an equal wall thickness.
The water bottle of the present invention is that used for the storage of water sold, shipped and delivered to consumers with the bottles returned when empty.
Typically, bottles of this size are difficult to handle and even attempts at adding a handle formed in the side was deemed by consumers difficult to grasp and lift. Also, while it may be economical to produce cylindrically shaped bottles, the shape is ill-suited for shipping and storage having a larger footprint than a polygonal form.
The water bottle of the present invention provides a receptacle having a recessed bottom formed to encompass the neck of a similar receptacle when stacked thereon and further formed wherein the interior recess includes improved handling means by forming a portion of the interior recess depending to an interior base wall appropriately spaced from the exterior wall of one or more polygonal facets and of sufficient height to serve as a handhold from one or more sides.
While the bottle in itself is an improved innovation over the prior art, the method employed in the bottle manufacture also results in a product having a consistent wall thickness throughout providing a product of higher quality with substantially less probability of containment failure. The method is comprised of expanding the parison (liquid plastic) in a mould with the mould base portion spaced away for an initial resin expansion that produces the consistent wall thickness. A predetermined amount of parison extends from the open base which is then moved into engagement with the mould walls creating the base recess as the parison is fully expanded. Therefore, in addition to the improved ergonomic bottle of the present invention, the present invention provides a method of manufacture comprising a mould having a first member and a second member with means for moving the second member into engagement with the first member at a predetermined time during a blow moulding task and the method of expanding the parison within the first member having the second member in an initial wait-state until a predetermined amount of parison expansion has occurred whereupon the second member is moved into engagement with the first member forming the container shape which is finalized during further parison expansion.
It is to be understood that while one embodiment of the present invention is depicted in the accompanying drawings for illustrative purposes, variations of the shape are possible without departing from the functional elements and are therefore included.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other molded containers designed for liquids. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,454 issued to Maynard, Jr. on Sep. 28, 1982.
Another patent was issued to Hestehave, et al. on Sep. 17, 1985 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,529. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,603 was issued to Starling, et al. on Mar. 4, 1986 and still yet another was issued on Dec. 27, 1988 to Wolf, et al. as U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,491.
Another patent was issued to Boal, Jr., et al. on Nov. 9, 1993 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,509. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,906 was issued to Sterett on Nov. 8, 1994. Another was issued to Boutin on Jul. 14, 1998 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,051 and still yet another was issued on Jan. 26, 1999 to Jones as U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,941.
Another patent was issued to Jones on Apr. 25, 2000 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,345. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 6,318,598 was issued to Schmitt on Nov. 20, 2001. Another was issued to Schall, et al. on Aug. 10, 2004 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,912 and still yet another was issued on Mar. 25, 1964 to Container Patent Company as U.K. Patent No. GB953,411.
Another patent was issued to Epperson on Aug. 7, 1980 as European Patent Application No. EP0024165. Yet another U.K. Patent No. GB2397572 was issued to Welsh, et al. on Jul. 28, 2004. Another was issued to Kashiwase on Jul. 2, 2004 as Japan Patent No. JP2004182334.